Mario's Quest of Peril
by ShadowKirby18
Summary: One day Mario is enjoying the start of the 4 th of July, when a mysterious letter arrives. It says that Mario, Luigi, and Peach are in danger. But by who or what? Find out in Mario's biggest adventure yet. Sorry for the first two chapters. They are short.
1. Chapter 1

One day Mario was in Mushroom Kingdom watching TV. on his new 52 inch plasma. He was also really happy because today was a special day. It was the 4th of July. Peach was out buying some stuff needed to make some BBQ. Luigi was upstairs reading a book about Professor E. Gadd's life, everything was normal and it could not be a more beautiful day. Then the door bell rang. Mario went to get the door, and standing outside was the koopa mailman.  
"Mr. Mario, may I speak with you for a moment?" asked the koopa. Mario led the koopa to the living room where they sat down in really comfortable leather chairs.  
"I will have to speak with your brother too," the koopa said. Mario called for Luigi. A few minutes later he came rushing down the stairs.  
"What-a do you need to tell-a us?" asked Mario. The koopa however didn't speak he just dug in his bag with all the mail and handed a letter to the Mario bros. Mario and Luigi opened the letter and read it. It said...

_You, your brother, and Peach are not safe anymore. Someone is hunting you down, and you have to get out of the castle as soon as possible. _

There was no signature. This letter made Mario feel very uncomfortable.  
"What-a is dis all about?!" said Mario in a loud, but nervous voice.  
"That is the question the Shy Guy Police Department has been asking themselves ever since they got the letter. It just appeared in the chief's office one day and no one know who or how it got there. I wish I had some answers but I don't." With this the koopa went for the door and left. Mario looked at Luigi who was now almost pale in the face.


	2. Chapter 2

Mario looked at Luigi was now almost pale in the face. After a few minutes of silence they decided to just ignore the letter. Soon Mario and Luigi were chilling and hanging out. They went into the game room to play some SSBM. About 2 hours passed and Peach had still not come back from the store. This thought got Mario worried.  
"I'm-a going to go to the store where Peach went to see if nothing bad happened-a," said Mario. He went for the door and left Luigi playing SSBM. As Mario was walking he thought of the letter that the koopa had given him. He tried to remember what the letter said.

_"You, your brother, and Peach are not safe anymore. Someone is hunting you down, and you have to get out of the castle as soon as possible."_

Mario said the 2 sentences over and over again. Then he remembered what the koopa said. _"It just appeared in the chief's office one day and no one knows how it got there."_ Mario suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. The koopa said the letter got there _**one day.**_ That means the letter didn't get there today or yesterday, it got there a while back ago. A voice in Mario's head told him that he had to go back to the castle. He realized that with all the thinking Mario got lost. Mario quickly turned around and started running. He didn't know exactly which way to go. He just knew that he had to make it back to the castle as soon as possible. After about 30 minutes of running he reached the castle. Mario quickly entered the living room and could not believe what he saw.

The floor was covered in a puddle of blood. There was shattered glass everywhere. But worst of all Luigi was no where to be seen. Mario searched the whole castle from top to bottom to make sure, but there was no Luigi.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own any Mario characters ok.

Mario had a feeling inside that was killing him. How could he not realize that the koopa said the letter came _one day?_ Mario now could not hold in what he was feeling any longer. So he did what he the one thing he could do right now. Mario let out a scream so loud and horrible that it felt as if the whole castle would crumble to the ground in seconds. He was now running around the room screaming at the top of his lungs, only stopping to take a breath every 45 minutes. It was now starting to get a little darker outside, it looked like it was 4:00-5:00. The screaming and running continued for 3 more hours. Eventually Mario started to feel dizzy and he fell on his back and was out cold.

When Mario woke up he was laying in the middle of the living room. It took some time for him to remember why he had screamed and feet really sad. But when he did he wished that this was all a dream. Mario sat up and after a while of sitting alone by himself he started walking around the whole castle. It was now 9:00 at night. All the happiness because Peach was going to make some BBQ for the 4th of July and they were going to have a great time was gone. Mario now was at the front door, he opened it stepped outside closed it, and without a look back at the castle he started running away from it.

He didn't know where he was running to; he just wanted to run as far away from the castle as he could. Fireworks were now lighting up the dark sky. At this time Mario would have been enjoying this beautiful sight with Peach and Luigi. He stopped running and started to watch the fireworks. A purple one that looked like a ball got bigger and bigger. Mario stared at it for a moment and realized the purple ball was coming at him. **BAM! **The ball had burned the ground where Mario had been just a second ago. Mario then heard a voice.

"So we meet again Mario." Right in front of Mario was a tall hooded figure floating in the air that launched more purple energy balls at him like the one he had seen earlier. Mario kept dodging but was tired from the running and couldn't keep it up much longer. He knew that if he didn't do something, he would get seriously injured, but what could he do?

The tall hooded figure kept on shooting purple energy balls at Mario. He kept on dodging and decided that he would fight the figure. After all, he was no coward. Mario stopped dodging and at surprising speed he climbed up a tree nearby, jumped into the air and tackled the figure down to the ground. Mario drove his fist into the figures stomach as hard as he could. Then into the figures face, while he punched the figure he heard the sound of metal. Mario decided that he would take the hood off the figure, he reached for the hood and pulled.

There was an iron mask on the figures face and a small dent. Taking advantage of Mario's distraction, the figure smacked Mario right on the face sending him flying. An energy ball hit Mario right on his right leg, and pain unlike anything Mario had ever felt before went through his leg. It felt as if though his very bones were on fire. Mario tried to stand up but his right leg was shooting pain through Mario's body with every single movement he made. He found a rock laying on the ground, grabbed it, and threw it. The figure didn't even flinch it just laughed at Mario's desperate move.

"Is that all you got?! I would probably have a harder time defeating a goomba than you," said the figures voice. The figure charged up an energy ball, it looked as if though it would be like the big one Mario saw earlier. He was wrong the figure released the energy ball which caused an explosion, sending thousands of rays into the sky. They all came toward Mario and the world ended in an explosion of white light.


	4. Chapter 4

When Mario woke up he noticed that he was chained up to a brick wall. A light turned on and the figure was standing in front of Mario, holding out a finger that had a red glowing point.

"I'm going to kill you Mario," said the figure. Mario just noticed how the figures voice sounded cold and scratchy. However the voice had enough power to send chills down anyone's spine. "You thought you really _did_ finish me off all those years ago." Slowly the figure's finger was now coming toward Mario. 

The figures finger was now approaching Mario's forehead. Mario had just noticed that the figures whole hand was covered in black leather gloves. He did not know what to do. Lots of ideas came into Mario's head like screaming for help, eating spinach, and spitting in the figures face. Mario finally decided that he would spit in the figures face. With all the power Mario had, he reached deep down as far as he could and soon enough, he had a massive loogie inside his mouth. He waited for the right timing and then...**SPLAT!!!** The loogie was all over the figures iron mask but it was enough to make it stagger and fall to the ground in disgust.

"Ugh! What a disgusting move you pulled off Mario!" yelled the figure. While the figure was busy getting the loogie off its face, Mario was trying his best to escape from the chains. After a few moments he remembered he had a small pocket knife in his pocket. He reached as far as he could and eventually reached it. He quickly cut as fast and as hard as he could, and within moments the chains broke. By this time the figure was now on its feet and Mario was standing there in shock that a small pocket knife cut through chains. Mario came back to his senses and at surprising speed took off and left the figure in the dust.

After Mario had enough of running he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. It was now starting to get bright, but Mario found a cave and stayed low there for a while. Then Mario heard a voice outside the cave.  
"Mario!!!!!!!!! Where are you?!" Everything was silent. And then, "Mario!!!!!" For some strange reason the voice sounded so familiar. Mario wanted to go check to see who or what it was. But he thought that it could be an enemy trying to hunt him down.

"Mario!!" The voice was still calling for Mario from outside the cave. It kept on calling him but Mario was not sure what to do. He had just fought with a hooded figure and almost got killed, and he was feeling tired and his leg still pained him from the purple blast the figure delivered to him. The least he wanted to do was confront a new enemy, but Mario was no chicken, he decided he would go check who was calling him. He slowly stood up and started to walk outside the cave. "Mario!" The voice seemed to be coming from one of the trees behind the cave he was just in. With caution, Mario started walking toward the trees. With each step he took the voice grew louder. Finally Mario hid behind some bushes waiting for the voice to comb near him. When the timing was right, friend or foe, he was going to surprise attack the one calling him.

A short time past and then Mario heard some footsteps. Quickly he jumped from his hiding place and jumped on the person or thing that was calling him. Mario had his fist up ready to punch anyone or anything but stopped. All bloody and bruised, in front of Mario, was Luigi.


	5. Chapter 5

"Luigi!" "What-a happened to you?" Mario asked in a shocked voice. Luigi was barely recognizable.

"I managed to escape from a tall hooded figure," said Luigi. Mario knew that the figure was the same one he fought because no one else could cause such horrible burn marks on a person's skin. Luigi started explaining in more detail what he had been through. From getting kidnapped after Mario left him alone playing video games, to getting tortured by the figure by cutting Luigi's skin with a knife. Even to his great escape from the hooded figure, which he did not go that much into detail.

"Luigi...did a you think da figure's voice was a little familiar?" Mario asked. Luigi nodded. Just then Mario realized how hungry he was. Both of the brothers went to a nearby river and hunted fish. For quite a few moments everything was silent while they ate. Just then a cold chill seemed to come over the Earth, and then there was a sinister laugh. A voice spoke...

"So both of the Mario brothers managed to escape from me...no matter. If you haven't noticed yet you still don't have Peach. This is a good thing for me because I have a special ritual that will make me immortal. I also have all the koopas, goombas, and some new enemies under my control. If you want to see Peach again, I suggest you follow the flaming ball of fire above the land, you have three days." Suddenly out of nowhere a flaming ball of fire rested in the sky. 

The voice of the hooded figure said that if they ever wanted to see Peach again they would have to follow it. What if it was a trap? Even if it wasn't, they had to be prepared for anything that was ahead. The Mario Bros. finally decided they would ask someone wise so they can receive help. Mario went through some people that had a lot of knowledge but they were sure no one would know about what they should do in a situation like this. Except...Elder Goomba. Out of all the people Elder Goomba was the only one who had experience on out-of-the-ordinary things. Quickly the Mario Bros. went to Goomba Forest. At last they found Elder Goomba's house. To be honest it wasn't a house at all, it was more like an old smelly hut. The Mario Bros. approached the house and knocked.

"I'm coming," said a very old voice. Moments later the door opened. There stood a Goomba unlike any other, he had a long silver beard that almost reached the floor, he had scars all over his face, wearing a hat of some sort, and for a Goomba, he was tall and buff. "What do you want?" Mario did not say anything neither did Luigi. Mario just raised a finger and pointed at the fire ball. The Goomba said "So the prophecy is coming true...you must be the Mario Bros. Come in" Slowly they went in, the hut smelled like burning wood and smoke. "Take a seat." Finally Mario spoke.

"There-a is a fire boll in da sky, and we were told to follow it." Mario told the Elder Goomba the whole story of what they had been through. The Elder Goomba stood up went to a shelf of books and got out an old book with dust and cobwebs all over it. From just looking at it, Mario could tell that it had some missing pages. He turned to a page and said...

"Read it." Mario and Luigi took the book and began to read. 

_The Great Mushroom Spirit will appear only to those who truly desire one and only one wish in the whole world. The spirit will only appear to those with courage and power. However if evil were to find out about this then they too will seek the spirit. In order for evil to summon the spirit it requires a sacrifice of royal blood. If for some reason evil shall get this knowledge two heroes shall come before evil and vanquish it. Heroes who are set upon vanquishing evil, be cautious as evil is strong. I write this as I die, and to those heroes, all I have to say is do not let anything stop you from your goal. Go and do not falter. _

Mario and Luigi looked up at each other shocked by what they just read. Now they knew what they had to do. The Elder Goomba spoke. 

"Mario...and…Luigi...known as the Mario Bros. **You **are the ones chosen to defeat evil. All you have to know was in that paragraph. I suggest that you do as the evil said to. Now go and get rid of evil." Without any more words the Elder Goomba led them to the door. The Mario Bros. looked at each other, knowing now that they are the chosen ones to vanquish evil, ran off into the shadows of the forest.


	6. Chapter 6

Mario and Luigi looked at each other, knowing now that they are the chosen ones to vanquish evil, ran off into the shadows of the forest. As they were running the Mario Bros. glanced up into the sky, and saw that the fire ball still rested in the sky. Mario and Luigi had done some incredible things in the past but they **never **would have guessed that out of all the people in the world, **they** were the ones destined to get rid of evil. Mario could tell that Luigi was thinking the same thing. They finally reached an open field, and now they could see the fire ball clearly. It was hard to tell where the ball was resting under, but they knew that wherever it was, it had to be where Peach was. Suddenly a mix of purple and blue lightning struck, and it fell to the ground with such force that as it came down, sparks of fire flew everywhere. Then the heat intensified, as the Mario Bros. looked up they noticed that the sky had turned orange and red, as if though a sunset was occurring early. The skies clouds seemed to be on fire.

"What-a happened? asked Luigi. Mario just shrugged his shoulders, he was wondering the same. Mario and Luigi continued running. Finally after what seemed like hours, they reached what seemed to be a very small village. The fire ball was a little bit up ahead. Carefully the Mario Bros. went through some trees and bushes around the village; so far nothing seemed suspicious about this place. Just when everything seemed like nothing could go wrong a koopa and a goomba popped out of nowhere, each carrying a spear. They also had a sinister look on them as well as scarlet colored eyes.

The koopa quickly lunged at Mario, but he reacted just in time to dodge. The goomba seemed to have done the same with Luigi. The koopa tried to get a stab at Mario, but this time he was ready. Mario dodged the koopa and then round housed kicked the koopa on the side of his skull, using his skills from Mario Strikers. The koopa's legs wobbled a bit and then he fell dead on the ground. Meanwhile Luigi just jumped on top of the goomba and it disappeared in a poof. Making sure there were no more enemies trying to ambush them, the Mario Bros. proceeded further into the village.

As they walked through the village, they noticed that there were barely any houses. It looked like if this place was deserted years ago. From what Mario could see, this part of the village was the farm. Eventually they reached a huge steel door that apparently had been busted down. The Mario Bros. continued, but then they stopped dead. They had reached the main village and there were what seemed like millions of koopas and goombas armed with weapons. Luckily they had not spotted them yet. Mario and Luigi knew that if they tried anything to risky they could end up 6 feet under, but they had to get past here they just _had _to. 


	7. Chapter 7

The main village was crawling with enemies. The Mario Bros. knew that if they just charged in, they would just end up dead, so they decided to work out a strategy. Mario would go into the village by himself while Luigi remained hidden, and if an enemy approached Luigi's hiding place he would trip them and beat them to their death. Luigi was to not interfere in _anything_ unless Mario whistled for him. When Mario and Luigi had agreed to their plan Luigi hid behind a tree and Mario walked towards the village. Almost instantly a goomba had spotted Mario. He made a signal and more koopas and goombas came charging at Mario.

Koopas were armed with axes while most of the goombas still carried spears. Both a koopa and a goomba jumped at Mario. He dodged, did an uppercut on the koopa and took his axe. Armed with a weapon Mario had more guts to confront the army of enemies. He sliced and cut at anything in sight. Koopas and goombas were now bloody. From behind Mario could hear fists punching skin, he looked back and Luigi was beating all the life out of a poor goomba. A moment later a koopa was tripped and Luigi started to punch him, shattering his nose on impact. Mario was doing well; he was using his skills from SSBM to knock out most of the enemies. Eventually some archers came. They shot an arrow at Mario; Luigi froze, wondering what will happen. Reacting fast Mario did a180 jump while he grabbed the fired arrow with one hand and threw it at the koopa piercing his right leg. Quickly Mario went toward the koopa punching and kicking everything blocking his way. He got to the koopa and delivered a Mario Tornado to the koopa sending him flying.

Everything was silent, and then lightning struck and a creature 12 feet tall, with brown skin, a green shell on its back, red eyes, and saliva coming out of its mouth appeared. A voice spoke. "Mario...you didn't chicken out. I'm surprised; meet one of my new creations, a koopa and a goomba combined. Its name is MegaKoopa. Finish him off!" The voice faded. The MegaKoopa was approaching Mario. He was carrying an enormous axe. MegaKoopa swung its axe, Mario barely dodged it. After the dust settled Mario saw a deep cut in the ground from the force of the axe. Mario knew that punching or kicking this beast would not even scratch it, but it was worth a try. Mario started running towards MegaKoopa. If there was one thing MegaKoopa didn't have that Mario did was speed. Taking advantage of this Mario went nearer and nearer, but he would now regret what he did. MegaKoopa with one swipe of its arm sent Mario soaring through the sky, causing him to crash into a brick wall of a house. Mario felt blood on the back of his head; he tried to sit up but stopped. Right in front of Mario stood MegaKoopa. It raised its axe and swung. 

_Thump, thump, thump,_ Luigi was now running at full speed towards Mario. He made a jump and pushed Mario out of the way. Dust was everywhere, and it took a while for it to settle. When it did Mario looked at Luigi. Luigi's entire left arm was covered in blood. There was a cut so deep that you could almost see Luigi's bone. Blood was now dripping to the ground like a waterfall.

"Are you crazy, Luigi?!" Mario shouted. "I told you to stay hidden no matter what!" Luigi ignored Mario. MegaKoopa was now walking towards the Mario Bros. It swung its axe, but Mario and Luigi were ready. They dodged the attack and then looked at each other. It was time they did some old-school bro. attacks. Mario and Luigi took position for their Splash Bros. move. It was not as good because of Luigi's injured arm. However this was enough to bring the monster to one knee. Mario was going to go for the ending blow but Luigi was ahead of him. A spear was in his hand, and he was now running at the monster. Using his own skill from Mario Strikers Luigi kicked MegaKoopa square in the face. It fell to the floor, and then at the speed of light Luigi switched positions in mid-air. He was coming down so fast that it seemed like Luigi would catch on fire, and then Luigi stabbed the beast in the heart. It let out a loud growl of pain, and then it was still.

"Are you an idiot?!" asked Mario in a loud voice. Mario and Luigi had gone inside a villager's house to rest. "You could have died! I told-a you to stay hidden, and to not interfere with anything! Look at your arm, you're-a lucky you still have it!" Mario was boiling with rage. He tried to heal Luigi's arm but it was no use. Mario looked at Luigi; he had a look on his face like someone had just spit on it.  
"Dis is da thanks I get for saving your life." he said quietly. "I just-a saved your life, and-a now you are treating me like-a dirt!" He stood up and went to the door.  
"Where are you going?!" asked Mario. "Come-a back here!" He went to grab Luigi and bring him back, but Luigi quickly punched Mario in the face knocking him to the floor. He also added a kick while he was trying to get back up. Luigi stopped and spit right in Mario's face, he walked away from him looking disgusted, pulled open the door and stormed off into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Mario sat up, whipping the spit from his face. He could not believe what Luigi had just done; never would Mario think that Luigi would do such a thing to him. Blood was coming out of Mario's left nostril. Mario just sat there in the middle of the room for what seemed like countless hours. Eventually Mario stood up, closed the door, sat in a couch until sleep took over him.

Mario was dreaming. He was tied up in a chair. Footsteps were getting louder and louder. The hooded figure approached him. "Mario...do you recognize me now?" Slowly it raised a hand to its iron mask and took it off.

Mario woke up. He sat up, and thought about the dream he just had. "Who was the hooded figure?" He asked himself, if only Mario stayed asleep for about 5 seconds more he would've at least seen what was behind the mask. Mario got up and looked outside a window. Everything was the same, the sky was red, the heat was unbelievable, but one thing was new. Yesterday Mario could still see some of the sun but now it was blocked away by the huge fire ball in the sky. He slowly remembered the event that had occurred yesterday as he walked towards the door. MegaKoopa's dead body was still lying on the ground which was now beginning to stink. There was a rumble in the sky and the figures voice spoke.

"Only 48 hours left...gasps where is your brother Luigi?" "I thought he was helping you rescue the princess." There was a laugh and the voice faded. Mario knew that he had to rescue Peach so he started running towards the fire ball. He finally reached a path that seemed to go out of the village. In front there were two more paths. One to the right, and the other to the left. _Then, _out of nowhere a goomba and a koopa appeared, one in front of each path. They spoke.

"Do not be afraid Mario," said the koopa.  
"We are not under control of the evil one," said the goomba. "We managed to hide and the evil one never found us." Both the koopa and the goomba looked at the fire ball. "We know that you must get to Princess Peach, but we cannot let you pass unless you choose a path." "It is our duty to guard these paths.  
"Here is the deal," said the koopa. "Two paths, you can only choose one, but be careful, for one path will get you to your destination while the other one will lead you to a horrible faith."  
"The twist is, one of the two of us will tell nothing but lies, while the other tells nothing but the truth." "If you are smart you will choose my path, for mine is the true way to your goal," said the goomba.  
"No, goomba lies!" "My path is the one you should take!" "I speak nothing but the truth, lying is one thing I can't do!" 

Mario looked at koopa, he did not know what path to take. He would choose koopas path because out of koopas and goombas, they are the friendliest. This koopa however, didn't show any sign that he would be telling Mario which path to take. Mario now looked over to the goomba. He knew that goombas were not friendly. They usually try to kill Mario which results on Mario stomping on them.

"Have realized that my path is the true way to your destination?" Goomba asked.  
"Do you really believe that Goomba's path is the true way to your destination?" Koopa said. "As I said before, I can't lie." "In fact, I have only lied 13 times in my whole life."  
"Which path will it be Mario?" "You got 30 more seconds to decide." Mario knew that he had to make a decision, and he had to make it fast.  
" I choose-a Goomba's path."  
" A wise choice Mario." The goomba slowly moved away from the path he was guarding and let Mario through.


	9. Chapter 9

"A wise choice Mario." The goomba slowly moved away from the path he was guarding and let Mario through. Mario started walking towards the path. As he turned around he saw the goomba and the koopa disappear in a blink of an eye. Everything was silent. The only noises Mario could here were the sounds of his footsteps, and a little bit of crackling fire coming from the fire ball in the sky. Tall trees and bushes were now starting to show up. For a moment Mario got reminded of Whispy Woods, a boss that Kirby had to take on in the past. _Snap._ Somewhere in the distance Mario could have sworn he heard a snap. A voice came from deep within the woods.

"Mario, I see you chose Goomba's path." Mario stopped and looked around wondering who or what had spoken to him. There was the sound of footsteps and snapping twigs and then a Magikoopa appeared. "Mario, you are going to fight off the evil figure aren't you?" Mario nodded his head, still kind of surprised from the sudden appearance of the magikoopa. "Do you have any idea of who the figure is?" Magikoopa asked. Mario mouthed the word no. "Then I shall tell you, think back to the past, clear your mind and just try to remember everything in the past." As Mario did visions came to Mario's head of Bowser being up to know good as usual. Followed by a very sinister laugh. "Now wake up."

Mario woke up, the Magikoopa standing in front of Mario. "Did you pick up enough clues from those few images Mario?" He shook his head. "Very well, I guess I'll have to tell you myself." "If the evil figure finds out I told you its real identity I shall be put to death, but its worth it." I have been abused by the figure for a long time and want to help you end its life." Magikoopa sighed. "The figure is-" Something seemed to be stopping Magikoopa from finishing its sentence. He grabbed its head and fell to the ground, trembling from what seemed like pain. Mario approached the koopa, but as he did the magikoopa quickly stood up and delivered a punch to the Mario's nose.

The magikoopa spoke, but not in the voice it was speaking in earlier is was a much different voice. "Mario, I'm going to kill you!" The voice seemed really high pitched. Magikoopa's eyes were now scarlet red just like the koopas and goombas that were under the figures control. Out of thin air a staff of some sort appeared. Magikoopa grabbed it and pointed it directly at Mario. The staff shot out a purple violet beam. Mario dodged and the beam hit a tree causing it to catch on fire for a few seconds and then it became a pile of ash on the ground. Magikoopa was walking towards Mario.

The evil look on its face just like the other koopas and goombas. He shot out another beam at Mario lighting another tree on fire. However this time the tree didn't turn to ash, it just stayed on fire. Eventually all of the heat and flames from the first tree made the rest of the others catch on fire as well. Soon all of the trees around Mario and the Magikoopa formed a ring making it seem impossible to escape. Mario decided that he had no choice but to fight the Magikoopa.

"Mario, aren't you going to fight me?" said the koopa. He pointed his staff once again at Mario, this time Mario didn't wait for koopa to attack. Mario ran towards the koopa at full speed eventually giving him a punch in the stomach. The Magikoopa gaged, he dropped his staff beside him. Mario looked at the staff for a moment; this must be the key to the koopa's magic powers. Before he got the staff the koopa was no threat, Mario could have just stomped on him and get it over with. Mario jumped at the staff on the ground but the koopa made a motion with his hand, and it flew back at him. In a swift motion the koopa was in front of Mario's face, and he pushed his staff into Mario's stomach as far as it would go. As the koopa did this Mario felt a strange feeling like his organs were shrinking. Mario opened his mouth and a splash of blood came out, falling on his overalls.

Mario felt like his organs were going to burst at any second. In one desperate attempt, Mario put his hands on the staff and tried to push it to the koopa. The staff was now starting to shake violently. Mario's hands were going numb and as he looked toward the koopa, Mario could tell that he was getting a bit frightened. The staff flew out of both Mario and the magikoopa's hands and went flying into the air. Magikoopa now had no weapon; he fell to the ground grabbing his head once again. Mario was holding his stomach, he felt like he was going to throw up, but this did not stop him from grabbing the staff on the ground. The heat cuased by the ring of fire got more intense by the second. Magikoopa sat up with the normal look on his face, like when Mario first met him, he was also gasping. Then a voice spoke.

"Magikoopa...you were going to reveal my identity weren't you?" said the voice which Mario recognized as the hooded figures. The Magikoopa looked up at the sky and spoke in a weak voice.

"I don't regret it." "I know that Mario will put an end to you." Magikoopa stopped talking.  
"Do you really think Mario will stop me?" With this there was a rumble in the sky. Without warning lighting came from the sky and struck the magikoopa dead. The figure laughed and its voice faded. Mario stood there looking at the dead body of the magikoopa. Now, Mario was even more determined to get rid of the figure. _Crackle._ Mario just noticed that the flames of the ring of fire were approaching Mario. He didn't know what to do. The heat was growing stronger. Sweat was now pouring from Mario. He paniced for a moment, but then realized he had the Magikoopa's staff in his hand. Without knowing what he was doing Mario held the staff up to the sky in his right hand and the staff flew off into the air with Mario, leaving the Magikoopa's dead and the flames behind.


	10. Chapter 10

As Mario was flying across the sky he took one last look at the final resting place where Magikoopa's body lay and could not help letting out a few tears. For some strange reason, Mario felt like time had sped up. Mario flew in the sky in silence for a while staring at the fire ball which rested over what seemed like a castle. Finally Mario was approaching the Fire Ball, he could see that fire ball indeed rested above a castle. The land and the castle were separated by a long concrete bridge. Below the bridge was nothing but darkness that seemed like it would go on forever.

"Mario, you have exactly 60 seconds to get to the castle below the fire ball," said the figures voice. Mario could not believe it. He had 60 seconds left to get to the castle?! If he remembered correctly, Mario still had about 24 hours to get to his destination. "Mario, what's wrong?" "You seem very confused." "Do you not know what just happened?" "Let me explain." "While you were fighting Magikoopa, at one point his staff made contact with your stomach didn't it?" "That was his time travel technique, a very unique technique that only few people have." "It requires a time staff to perform." "If it makes contact with another being, time will travel at incredible speed causing pain to the one it made contact with." "Even though it seems like you just met and fought koopa just minutes ago, you actually fought him 24 hours ago." "Now then, I suggest you come to the castle if you want to see Peach again, you have 30 seconds left."

With this Mario forced the staff to land at full speed. 20 seconds left. He was now running towards the bridge. 15 seconds left. The bridge seemed miles long. It was now crumbling, and Mario picked up the speed. 10 seconds left. Mario was almost there; as the bridge crumbled down to the darkness Mario made a leap of faith and made it to the front gate of the castle. 5 seconds left. The gate was closing, Mario ran like his life depended on it. 1 second left. He jumped as far as he could and made it in by an inch.

Mario was in a very large open spaced room. Large enough for Mushroom Kingdom to fit inside of it. There were bright lights on the ceiling and pictures of what seemed like darkness falling upon the earth. A high platform was in the middle of the room, and two doors at the side.

"Well well Mario, I see you made it just in time." A shadow lowered from the ceiling and the figure appeared on the platform. "You must be determined to get to me," the figure said. "but its a shame that you might never pass this room." The figure snapped its fingers and the two doors on the side of the platform opened. An entire army of koopas, goombas, and MegaKoopas came out each of them carrying axes, swords, spears, and other weapons. "Kill him." They were moving towards Mario. 

The army of enemies was moving towards Mario. He looked over to the figure who was still standing there, in the platform apparently enjoying every second that passed. Mario just stood there looking at the enemies that wished that they could tear Mario to shreds. Something shook in Mario's right hand. He looked down and saw the time staff that the magikoopa was carrying. Mario raised the staff and pointed it at the group of enemies, hoping that it would shoot out beams like it had done before. The staff shook again and began to fade. Within seconds, Mario was not holding a staff anymore.

The figure laughed. "Mario, where has your staff gone?" said the figure in a laughing way. Smoke started covering the platform where the figure was standing. When the smoke cleared the figure was nowhere to be seen. Mario had no choice but to use his secret technique. He pulled out a green whistle from his pocket and blew it. The whistle made a really high squeak and then everything was silent. The enemies laughed at Mario's desperate attempt. One of the MegaKoopas made a signal with his arm and a goomba threw a spear right at Mario. The spear seemed to go 90 miles per hour heading for Mario. Just as Mario was closing his eyes preparing for death, there was the sound of shattering glass and a long, and red tongue shot out and caught the spear in mid-air.

Mario looked, and there in front of him were an army of Yoshi's along with Shy Guys that seemed to be from the SGPD. The Yoshi that had saved Mario's life was none other than the one Mario had ever since he was a baby. Green with a red spot on its back, it was Yoshi number 1! He spoke.

"We got your back Mario. Just go and look for Princess Peach." He pointed towards stairs that Mario just noticed they were there. He nodded and headed for them. There were sounds of flesh being cut by sharp objects and sounds of Shy Guys shooting everywhere. As Mario looked down he saw that the Yoshi's were using skills from SSBM to give the enemies a good beating. The Shy Guys were also doing pretty well for what seemed like their first time fighting. Mario was now almost at the top of the stairs when somehow a MegaKoopa came crashing down from the ceiling. It was a miracle that the huge force of the MegaKoopa didn't make the stairs crash to the floor. This MegaKoopa was carrying a spear and immediately swung at Mario. This time however, Mario had a good idea of what he had to do to kill one, and he was also going to use the height they were at to his advantage. He kicked the koopa full force in the face, it staggered and then went to the edge of the stairs where it fell down of what looked like a 50 ft. drop. Mario heard a loud thud and then proceeded up the stairs where he encountered a door. Mario put his hand on the knob and opened it.

Mario was now in what seemed like a long hallway. There were a few lights hanging to the left and right walls that barely let out any light. As Mario got further into the hallway, it started to get darker. Mario had to put his hand against the wall just to navigate threw the hall.

"Mario, let me train you," said a voice from the darkness. A light lit up and another Magikoopa was standing in front of Mario. "Come," he said "let me train you."


	11. Chapter 11

Mario, let me train you," said a voice from the darkness. A light lit up and another Magikoopa was standing in front of Mario. "Come," he said "let me train you." Mario did not know what to do. He was scared that this Magikoopa would suddenly turn evil just like the other one and attempt to kill him. Even though Mario thought that the koopa was most likely leading him to a trap, he agreed to go with him. The Magikoopa smiled which made Mario feel really uncomfortable. Mario had just noticed that there was light coming from the tip of Magikoopa's finger. They walked through the hallway which eventually led to two different paths, one to the left, and one to the right. They took neither path, the koopa just walked up to the middle as if though there were an invisible door. With a wave of the koopa's hand, an old and rusty door appeared right in the middle of where the two paths divided. They approached it and entered.

They were in a big room, much like the first room Mario was in when he first got to the castle. The sound of the koopa's and Mario's footsteps echoed as they walked further into the room. Mario started feeling more uncomfortable as every minute passed.

"What-a is dis place?" asked Mario. Magikoopa stopped and turned around. Mario was half ready to punch at the koopa if he tried to hurt him, but he didn't.

"This place, is the training room," he said. "This is where I train anybody that is in need." "You, Mario, seem like you could use some training too." Magikoopa smiled like he had done before. "Don't worry Mario; I don't plan on killing you." "I just hope, that you can survive this." As soon as Mario blinked, the koopa was in front of Mario and something got driven hard into his stomach. Mario looked down and noticed that the Magikoopa had a staff just like the other Magikoopa. Except that this staff was different from the other, it was blue. Mario never really paid any attention to the other staff, but he was sure it was red. The same feeling like before came over Mario. His organs felt like they were shrinking in size, then as if though they were going to burst. The Magikoopa removed his staff from Mario's stomach.

Mario staggered for a bit and then fell on his knees. Blood was spilling from Mario's mouth again, but this time it was more severe. For a good number of minutes all he did was spill out blood. It came out so fast that if there were tiny people on the floor, their rain would be nothing but blood. Slowly Mario got to his feet holding his stomach from the pain. Feeling that he would be spilling out blood again at any moment. Mario and the koopa made eye contact. The koopa pointed above Mario's head. Mario looked up and saw a barrier. It was huge, it completely covered the room. The door in which they had come in this room was the only thing not covered. Magikoopa spoke.

"You seem to be shocked," he said. "Don't worry, I did not do that to try to kill you. I was just testing you to see if you are truly worthy of me teaching you. It looks like you are." "My brother, the one you fought in the forest was going to tell you who the figure was, wasn't he?" "I guess the evil one found out because if my brother successfully told you who it was you would have come with more caution. Right before he died, he sent me a mental image of what was happening. I knew then, that I had to find you and train you for the upcoming fights you are going to have." 

For the first time in Mario's life he was actually scared. He was very confused and didn't know what to do. Slowly he started backing away from the Magikoopa.

"Don't try to run away, because the moment my staff made contact with your body, this barrier separated us from the real world," he said. "You seem very confused let me explain. When you fought my brother a barrier formed around you two as well. You might not have noticed because it wasn't a barrier like this one, the flames around you were the barrier. His time travel technique made everything outside the flames travel at incredible speed. When you were fighting it seemed as though you only took 30 minutes or less, but when the barrier faded, a whole day had gone by without you noticing." Everything was quiet for a moment. "This barrier, however, makes everything outside of it travel at extremely slow speed. Two days in here would only be two hours in the other world. Basically, this barrier is a completely different world. As long as this barrier is here, nothing can get out, and nothing can get in," once again the koopa stopped. "Mario, I shall begin to train you, but first I have to tell you something."

"When my brother died, he left his staff behind. That was his time staff. There are two time staffs in the whole world. I have the other one." The koopa raised his staff. "The Elder Goomba sent me a message saying that he showed you the prophecy. However in that book he showed you there was something missing. In fact, the complete version of the prophecy is in this castle. I shall only tell you the part Goomba forgot to tell you. It goes like this."

_"The Great Mushroom Spirit will appear only to those who truly desire one and only one wish in the whole world. The spirit will only appear to those with courage and power, but you must summon him by having all four staffs of destiny combined. They are, both of the Time Staffs, the Elder Staff, and the Staff of Betrayal. Together they shall make The Staff of Summoning. Use it to summon The Great Mushroom Spirit or any other spirit you wish."_

"The Elder Staff was named after Elder Goomba. He was the only one who _could_ touch it, said the koopa. "One night, mysteriously The Elder Staff disappeared. It was strange because in the past people had tried to steal the staff, but all of them failed and were killed. That is all that I can tell you. Right now I have to train you. One day. That is all of the time I am giving you. I'm confident that in one day you will have unbelievable powers." Magikoopa stood up and so did Mario. They looked at each other for a moment. "Let us begin."


	12. Chapter 12

"Mario, do you know that you can use fire powers? Mario remembered that he could and that he mostly used them in SSBM. As time passed, Mario forgot how to use them due to the fact that he got lazy and didn't train anymore. "I am going to let you have your powers back, only if you manage to pass my training." Go to the other side of the room. Mario did. When he looked back at the koopa, it seemed as if though he was miles away. "Put your right hand out, and focus on the palm of you hand," he said. "Clear your mind." Mario did what the koopa said. "Close your eyes and think of fire." As Mario did this he saw the flames surrounding him and the Magikoopa from before, the intense flames that came out of Bowser's mouth, and the ball of fire that rested above the castle.

Mario's palm started to feel warm. It felt as if though a match was resting on his hand.

"Open your eyes," said the koopa. Mario opened his eyes and saw a tiny flame resting on the palm of his hand. "Now do the same with your left hand." For a moment Mario saw the same things he had seen before. His training was easy so far. "Now, I am going to put a rock in each hand. You will lift them in the air, and as you do so, you will make the flame in your hands reach high temperatures causing the rock to melt. Close your eyes"

Mario forced all the energy he had in him to his hands. He tried as hard as he could, but he could not lift the rock up.Sweat was now flowing like a river through Mario's whole body. Out of frustration, Mario abandoned all his focus on his hands, dropped to his knees and punched the ground. A loud explosion occurred. Mario opened his eyes and saw that pieces of rock were flying through the air like a large group of birds. He looked over to the koopa and saw that he was smiling.

"Nice job, Mario. You unleashed your "Mario Finale." "You might not have noticed, but near the end when you fell to your knees, the flames not only melted the rock in your hand, it melted the whole are around you. Take a look." It was true the area where Mario was on his knees was all hot and squishy and it seemed about 5-6 ft. deep. The koopa came to Mario and helped him out of the hole. "You can also turn the Mario Finale into weaker blasts of fire, such as the regular fire ball, a fire punch, and triple fire balls shooting out of the air, which requires any of the staffs of destiny," said the koopa. "If you were to try your Mario Finale again, it won't work. In order for you to use it at will, you must combine your fire power with another." There was a long period of silence. "Bowser, if you will."

"Mario, it has been a long time." Mario looked around, wondering where the voice came from. Out of nowhere a big, tall, and spiky figure came. Mario could not believe it after all of these years he saw him again. Bowser. "Heh, you seemed to be in shock Mario," he said in his loud and tough voice. Mario got ready in fighting position. "Don't worry, this time I'm not your enemy, I'm your friend. You see, for once, we have a lot in common. I'm not sure if the figure has reveled its true identity to you, but I was aghast to see who it really is, and I'm sure you will too." There was a short pause. "I won't tell you who it is because I'm sure that you'll know who it really is _very_ soon. Let me just say that you will get a blast from the past."

"You will indeed Mario," said the Magikoopa. Mario did not like this at all. Did everyone know who the figure was? "Now, as I was saying, you have to combine your fire power with another in order to perform you Mario Finale again. We must get you prepared. Bowser, come closer." He did. "Mario, this is very risky because if you don't focus and pay attention you can end up killed. What I am going to have you do is stand there while Mario breathes fire on you."

"What!" Mario shouted. "He could-a burn me! How do I know if you aren't-a setting me up for a trap, just planning to kill me?!"

"I think Bowser and I have made it clear that we have no intension of killing you Mr. Mario. What I'm going to have you do is close your eyes and think of grass, and trees. Keep your focus on them because even if you get distracted for a fraction of a second, it could cost you your life," he said. "Now, we will begin. Bowser, if you may." He nodded. "Close your eyes now!" Mario did and immediately he was seeing grass and trees. Mario felt the flames of Bowser hitting him. In his head the grass and trees started to catch on fire. Out of incredible heat, the fire started crackling. He heard Magikoopa's voice speak. "You are going to open your eyes while keeping those images in your head. Open" Mario opened his eyes and what he saw almost made him lose his focus.

His body was on fire and glowing red, yet he did not feel burns on his skin or any other pain. It just felt as if though Mario was in a relaxing hot spring. "Mario now quickly thinks of exploding fire works, release all your energy and unleash your Mario Finale. He did, and an explosion expanded vertically as it traveled through the air, causing it to catch on fire for a quick second. Mario was amazed on what he could do. Finally it ended.

"You have done well Mario," said the koopa. Bowser nodded. "I believe you have something to attend to, don't you Bowser?" He nodded again and he started walking away and disappeared magically. "I'm sorry Mario, but believe it or not we still have about 15 minutes left, and I must give you your final test." There was a long pause just like before and Mario felt like bad was coming. "For your final test, you must kill me."


	13. Chapter 13

"For your final test, you must kill me." Mario felt as if though something had struck him in the heart. He could not believe it, he had to kill Magikoopa? Why? The Magikoopa looked up at Mario with a sad look on his face.

"Do you know why you must kill me?" asked the koopa. "I guess you didn't really understand what I wanted you to know about about summoning The Great Mushroom Spirit. Let me say it once more." _""The Great Mushroom Spirit will appear only to those who truly desire one and only one wish in the whole world. The spirit will only appear to those with courage and power, but you must summon him by having_ **all four staffs of destiny combined.** They are, **both of the Time Staffs,**_ the Elder Staff, and The Staff of Betrayal. Together they shall make The Staff of Summoning. Use it to summon The Great Mushroom Spirit or any other spirit you wish."_ Magikoopa raised the second Time Staff.

Mario understood now, he had to kill the Magikoopa. It was his only chance of getting the second Time Staff so he could summon The Great Mushroom Spirit. He looked at the koopa who nodded to say _"You seem to understand now." _Mario looked the koopa in the eye with a sad expression on his face. He nodded, accepting that he would kill Magikoopa.

"I see you made up your mind, so let's get it over with." The koopa stopped and Mario could have sworn that he had heard a sob. "No matter what happens, I want you to know that I am your friend and even if I die, I will always be with you." His staff started to glow bright blue. Mario got into fighting position. A beam shot out of koopa's staff hitting the barrier causing it to ricochet and hit Mario in the back. It felt like he had just been electrocuted. His body was twitching. The koopa was running towards Mario at surprising speed. Mario charged his hand and released a fire ball. It missed, Mario dodged the koopa, grabbed him by the arm, and released anther fire ball at him. This time, it hit him full on the face. The koopa fell to the ground, but quickly got up. He held his staff in his right hand and started flying above Mario's head. Mario shot a spray of fire balls at him but nothing seemed to hit him. Koopa was waving his hand and beams shot out of thin air each hitting Mario one by one. His clothes got ripped and burned as each beam hit him. And then without planning it, while the koopa soared down closer to Mario, he grabbed the end of the staff.

Both Mario and the koopa were now flying through the air, not using any powers to fight, just their bare fists. Sounds of flesh being punched echoed. Mario and Magikoopa pulled their fists back and as hard as they could push them forward. Mario got hit in the cheek and the same thing went for the koopa. Their punches made the rest of their bodys shake, causing each of them to lose grip on the staff, and fall to the floor. As they were falling Mario pulled the koopa toward him. They started kicking, and punching in mid air. Magikoopa made a wave with his hand which caused Mario's hands to lock behind his back as if though he were handcuffed. He grabbed on to Mario tight and then they fell even faster towards the ground. The crash was huge, it felt like Mario and the koopa were going to fall to the floor below. Mario's bones felt like they had been broken. The smoke from the crash was covering the entire barrier. Slowly Mario stood up. 

Mario stood up. His legs felt like they were going to give up on him. He could not see anything due to all of the smoke and dust covering everything. It started to clear slowly. Mario saw a shadow standing up as well, it was getting closer. Out of the dust came a very bruised and bloody Magikoopa. He also had a black mark on his face, where Mario's fire ball had hit him. The koopa was still coming, Mario noticed that he had his staff with him. He jumped, raised his staff, and swung it down towards Mario. Mario had stopped the staff with his hands. Just like before with the other koopa, his hands were going numb. Mario saw that the staff was shaking, and guessed that it was because someone was going to die right now. He looked at the koopa still holding the staff as hard as he could. Magikoopa looked at Mario. Both Mario and the koopa knew that at any moment, someone was going to let go and die. Mario let go.

As Mario did this, somehow three fire balls came out of the air and shot at the koopa. Mario was sure he was going to die. He fell to the floor, and closed his eyes. Everything was silent. Mario opened his eyes. He thought this was all a dream. He was alive. Remembering what had just happened he got up to his feet. Magikoopa was lying on the ground not moving at all. Mario approached him. His eyes were opened but Mario wondered if they could see him or not. At a closer look he saw that the koopa's chest was moving up and down, there was still some life left in him, although it seemed like he wouldn't be getting up.

"Mario...come here..." said Magikoopa's faint voice. Mario sat down beside the koopa, he saw that there was blood coming out of his mouth. "I knew you would finish all your training in one day...and now that I am about to die, take my staff. His staff was lying next to him. Mario grabbed it. When he did something appeared in front of him. It was the first Time Staff. The blue Time Staff got out of Mario's hand and joined the red staff in what seemed like a dance. Slowly they got closer, and then a bright blue and red light shined. Instead of two staffs, there was one. It was half blue, half red, and there was a gem at the top. It was half a ruby and half a sapphire. "That is the Twin Staff," said the koopa. "Each time you get a knew staff, they will combine and form a new one. In this case the Twin Staff combined from both Time Staffs. When you get the others it will make the Elder Twin Staff, and finally the Summoning Staff, also know as the Elder Twin Staff of Betrayal." The koopa gasped for breath. "Mario I'm afraid it's time for me to go, take a care of yourself, I believe in you, so don't disappoint me. Remember, I will always be with you." With this the Magikoopa took its last breath and died. Tears trickled down Mario's cheeks.


End file.
